Official airBaltic Website | Cheap Flights to the Baltics, Russia, Europe About us Press room Career at airBaltic airBalticTraining airBalticBlog Contact us FAQs Destinations Aberdeen , Amsterdam , Athens , Baku , Barcelona , Berlin , Billund , Brussels , Budapest , Catania , Copenhagen , Dubrovnik , Dusseldorf , Frankfurt , Geneva , Gothenburg , Hamburg , Helsinki , Kiev , Larnaca , London , Madrid , Malta , Milan , Minsk , Moscow , Munich , Nice , Odessa , Olbia , Oslo , Palanga , Palma de Mallorca , Paris , Poprad , Prague , Reykjavik , Rhodes , Riga , Rijeka , Rome , Salzburg , Stavanger , Stockholm , St.

Petersburg , Tallinn , Tampere , Tbilisi , Tel Aviv , Thessaloniki , Turku , Venice , Verona , Vienna , Vilnius , Warsaw , Zurich Top Non-Stop Routes Riga – Berlin , Riga – Paris , Riga – Copenhagen , Tallinn – Riga , Tallinn – Amsterdam , Tallinn – Berlin , Tallinn – Paris , Tallinn – Vienna , Tallinn – Vilnius , Vilnius – Amsterdam , Vilnius – Berlin , Vilnius – Stockholm , Vilnius – Tallinn , Paris – Riga , Paris – Tallinn , Berlin – Riga , Berlin – Tallinn , Berlin – Vilnius , Stockholm – Riga , Stockholm – Vilnius , Amsterdam – Riga , Amsterdam – Tallinn , Amsterdam – Vilnius The World's Most Punctual Airline airBaltic is the national Latvian airline that offers cheap flights to over 50 destinations in Europe and beyond from Riga , Vilnius and Tallinn . Its convenient flight schedule is great for both business and leisure travel, and frequent online deals at low prices provide the option to book holidays well in advance or grab a last-minute flight.

Tickets are available for booking online on airBaltic.com, at travel agencies or via airBaltic call centre . airBaltic leads Ryanair and Wizz Air in Baltic region 16 Mar 2016 // Star Feature // 1 Comment » Baltic region will soon welcome airBaltic’s new Bombardier CS300 aircraft; Nordica is new name for Estonia’s newest carrier airBaltic, the leading airline in the Baltics, will receive the first of 13 firm orders for Bombardier CS300 aircraft in the second half of 2016. They will be used to replace the airline’s dozen 737s (a mix of -500s and -300s). airBaltic’s closest rivals in the region are Ryanair and Wizz Air. With a combined population of around 6.2 million people, the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania cover an area roughly half the size of Germany. The capital cities of each nation ( Tallinn , Riga and Vilnius respectively) are each served by a single major airport.

Apart from these airports, the only others in the three countries to have significant scheduled services are Kaunas and Palanga, both of which are in Lithuania. In 2001, the three main airports combined served fewer than two million passengers per annum. Last year, the same three airports handled just under 11 million passengers. Between 2001 and 2004 there was little to choose between Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius in terms of demand, but since 2005 Riga has pulled into a clear lead thanks to the growth of airBaltic. In 2009, Riga was handling three times as many passengers as either of the other two airports. However, since 2010 Riga has experienced relatively modest growth (just 11%) while Vilnius’s traffic has increased by almost 150% and Tallinn’s is up by almost 60%. If we include Kaunas and Palanga in the traffic statistics, then the airports of the Baltics handled a total of just over 11.5 million passengers last year.

For comparison, among individual airports across Europe, that would fit in between Warsaw (11.2 million) and Nice or Prague (both with 12.0 million passengers). Source: Airport websites. Vilnius has lowest SVID score Using passenger data for 2015 we can compare the seasonality profiles of the three main airports. All three rate “Good” on anna.aero’s SVID (Seasonal Variation in Demand) calculator , but Vilnius (4.10), just beats Riga (4.27) and Tallinn (5.71) for having the lowest score. Tallinn’s profile last year was not helped when the national carrier, Estonian Air, ceased operation in early November. Source: Airport websites. airBaltic leads Ryanair and Wizz Air In terms of scheduled seat capacity in 2015, airBaltic was the leading carrier thanks to its Riga hub. However, it is also among the top three carriers at both Vilnius and Tallinn. The government-owned airline recently announced a new major shareholder, a German investor who has purchased a 20% stake in the airline for 52 million Euros.

The carrier will also be the launch customer this summer for Bombardier’s CS300 series aircraft, which will be used to replace the carrier’s 12 existing 737-500s and 737-300s. airBaltic also has 12 76-seat Q400s which it uses on regional routes and which replaced Fokker 50s which the airline had been operating since late 1998. Ryanair is a clear second with a base at Kaunas as well as operations from Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn. This summer will see the ULCC also launch flights from Palanga to London Stansted. The Irish ULCC will have a two-aircraft base at Vilnius for the start of W16/17, with an announcement made during the recent CONNECT conference . Third-ranked Wizz Air has a base in Vilnius, a presence at both Riga and Kaunas and will also start Palanga flights this summer, but to London Luton. Source: OAG Schedules Analyser. On 30 April 2015, Air Lituanica launched flights from Vilnius to Hamburg.

Sadly, less than a month later, the airline ceased operations after offering scheduled flights for just under two years. Sadly two of last year’s top 15 airlines both ceased operations during the last 12 months with Lithuania losing Air Lituanica and Estonia losing Estonian Air. While the Estonian government quickly set up a replacement company, Nordic Aviation Group (with the assistance of Adria Airways), Lithuania has not. Given that in the last few years the country has seen the demise of flyLAL (in January 2009), Star1 (in October 2010) and now Air Lituanica (which launched in June 2013), the issue of whether the country can really sustain a national flag-carrier needs to be considered carefully. Given that (much-larger) near neighbours Denmark, Norway and Sweden ‘share’ a flag-carrier suggests that something similar may be appropriate for the Baltic States. According to OAG data for 2015, a total of 30 scheduled airlines operated at least 20 flights into one or more of the Baltic States airports.

Among those outside of the top 15 are Aegean Airlines (linking Athens with Tallinn), easyJet (serving Tallinn from London Gatwick ), and SWISS (connecting Zurich with Riga), as well as another airline that is no longer operating, Transaero Airlines. UK and Germany battle for #1 country market status The leading country markets from Baltic airports for scheduled services in 2015 were UK and the Germany, with little to choose between them. Both also reported almost identical increases in seat capacity compared with 2014. Each of the Baltic countries (shown in bright green) appears in these rankings as there are links between each of them. The four Nordic nations (shown in pale green) are ranked fourth to seventh, with Norway having a significant lead over the other three countries, and may move past Russia into third place in 2016. Source: OAG Schedules Analyser.

airBaltic, Ryanair and Vueling lead new route launches for S16 Apart from the two previously mentioned new routes to London from Palanga, the following routes have been announced as starting this summer from the Baltic airports: Riga (RIX): Aegean Airlines to Athens; airBaltic to Reykjavik/Keflavik ; Vueling to Barcelona and Rome; Tallinn (TLL): airBaltic to Amsterdam , Stockholm Bromma and Vilnius; Nordica to Berlin Tegel, Edinburgh , Odessa, Paris CDG , Rijeka and Vienna; Vueling to Rome; Vilnius (VNO): airBaltic to Tallinn; Germania Flug to Zurich; Ryanair to Berlin SXF, Birmingham and London Luton; Vueling to Barcelona. Nordica is the recently revealed new brand name for the airline that has so far been operating as Nordic Aviation Group with the help of Adria Airways’ AOC with flights also being operated by bmi regional and NextJet. Nordic Aviation Group recently released images of their new “nordica” brand which they plan to introduce from the end of March.

The CEO of the design agency (Optimist) which came up with the dragonfly-based design explained: “The dragonfly is a mystical and beautiful creature that cannot be found everywhere and that looks like a high-tech miracle. The dragonfly’s sleek body resembles a plane and its flight is fast and controlled. In many cultures, the dragonfly is also the symbol of good fortune.” So now you know. Air Baltic Corporation | Hahn Air Air Baltic Corporation Profile Air Baltic Corporation, operating as airBaltic, is a Latvian flag carrier and a low-cost airline based at Riga International Airport (RIX). airBaltic operates flights to more than 50 destinations in 32 countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and Sweden. airBaltic has recently won many awards, including a Gold medal in ISPY 2016 for the quality of its cabin service. It was also ranked first in punctuality by OAG analysts. Air Baltic - Airline details : Air Baltic Map of the airports served by Air Baltic Facts and figures about Air Baltic: In which countries are distributed the destinations? A big number of countries are served by Air Baltic.

In total you have a choice of 32 to fly. In terms of destination, the most popular country is Latvia with 48% of the airport destinations. Which airports are the main ones? Airports used by Air Baltic: Main Airports airBaltic – The big airline from the small country – Airliner World Published: August 10th, 2010 Airliner World magazine reports on the airline’s plans to be a force in European skies following Latvia’s entry into the European Union. As one of the youngest, and smallest, of the world’s national carriers, Latvian airline airBaltic was quick to modify its business structure to meet with changes in market conditions after 9/11. While other airlines struggled, this company bucked the global trend, reporting its first profits and witnessing a growth in passenger numbers and loads. This had not always been the case – when the airline entered the new Millennium it had endured five unprofitable years. In 2002 German-born Bertolt Flick took the hands-on role of President and Chief Executive Officer – he previously held the position of Chairman of the Board having been instrumental in the airline’s formation and launch.

With Latvia taking its position as a formal member of the European Union on May 1, 2004, airBaltic expanded its presence in the Baltic and wider European markets. Background After gaining its independence from the former Soviet Union in August 1991, it was essential for Latvia to establish international trade links. The country’s first national airline, Latavio, was established using a mixed feet of Antonov and Tupolev models inherited from the former Baltic regional directorate of Aeroflot. With such a small population base and high operating costs, the airline was unable to generate sufficient traffic to become a successful concern and despite investment from the state, it was operating at a significant loss. With the company close to bankruptcy, the Latvian government looked at alternative ways of establishing a strong air transport operator and after studying the possible privatisation of the carrier, it decided to establish a brand new operator from a partnership deal between the state and various foreign concerns. Bertolt Flick acted as a third party consultant on the formation of the airline, corresponding directly with the Latvian government, and in August 1995, airBaltic became the republic’s new flag carrier.

The result was a venture between the Latvian government, US-based Baltic International, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) as well as Danish and Swedish investment funds. The new concern took over the route licences and ground facilities of its predecessor, Latavio and fellow local carrier Baltic International from October 1 after the transport ministry had grounded the operations of the heavily-indebted former national carrier just a day earlier. The Saab 340 played an important role in the airline establishing regional flights from Riga, launching services to Stockholm in Sweden on October 1, 1995. Saab image Launch A major factor in the Latvian government’s plan was to establish a modern generation airline offering regular services to hub airports in Europe and Scandinavia. A conscious decision was taken therefore to distance airBaltic from Latvia’s former communist links and to try to offer high quality standards similar to those already available in Western Europe. Consequently, it was decided not to operate any of its predecessor’s Soviet-built fleet choosing instead to acquire a mix of new and second-hand Western-built types.

It was an absolute prerequisite for us and the Latvian government as we wanted to establish airBaltic as a modern and safe airline, said Bertolt in 2004. With such a small local demand, the airline targeted the 70-seat market for its launch after identifying that 100-seat aircraft were too large for its proposed operations. After studying the Fokker 70, Douglas DC-9-21/41 and BAE Systems RJ70 Avroliner, a formal decision was made to acquire three of the British-built Avros for delivery during the first year of operations. We secured an excellent deal for the aircraft, which were all brand new airframes, said Bertolt. It took delivery of all three during the first half of 1996, although the third aircraft was outsourced to other carriers, including National Jet Systems in Australia, Air Nuigini, AzzurraAir in Italy and Druk Air, the national airline of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. The new national carrier launched operations on October 1, 1995, initially linking Stockholm with Riga using one of two Saab 340s acquired for ‘thin’ routes.

The first RJ70s were due for delivery early the following year, so airBaltic initially utilised Baltic International’s former fleet until the end of 1995 and later wet-leased a single BAe 146-200 from Manx Airlines of the UK. Although Baltic International had operated Tupolev Tu-134s, airBaltic only utilised its two Boeing 727-100s, which makes it the only flag carrier from the former Soviet Union to exclusively operate western equipment. Restructuring During 1996 and 1997 airBaltic gradually established a strong regional network in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Alongside important links to the Copenhagen and Stockholm hub airports of its partner airline SAS, airBaltic opened new routes to the neighbouring states of Estonia and Lithuania as well as international links to Belarus, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. Although loads were not high, they were showing positive growth, and in November 1998 the airline began a partial fleet reorganisation introducing the Fokker 50 for services to Copenhagen, Stockholm and new flights to Hamburg.

It then took the bold decision to replace its two leased Saab 340s with the larger 46-seat turboprops to provide additional scope for growth on short- and medium-range routes. Until 2004 the Avro RJ70 was the largest aircraft operated by airBaltic. BAE Systems image The introduction of the larger type played a significant role in the development of the airline’s route structure as it was not really suited to some of its shorter, thinner routes that had been previously served by the Saab 340s. The aircraft was too big to fly to Vilnius, Tallinn and Minsk, which were excellent Saab 340 destinations. However, the capacity of the Fokker created new opportunities for airBaltic enabling the carrier to greatly expand its presence in Finland and Sweden and to operate these routes at profitable levels, said President and former Chief Executive Officer Kristian Kircheiner. According to the airline, the move was a brave and expensive operation but proved to be crucial to its growth as it is doubtful that the carrier would be in its current position had it continued to serve Stockholm with its Saab 340s.

Although Latvia was trying to distance itself from its historical links with the Soviet Union, its development was still strongly linked to the Russian economy and a crisis in Russia and the resultant economic decline of the late 1990s caused concerns over the long-term future of the Latvian carrier. After years of steady growth, passenger numbers stood still and we were forced to look closely at our business plans, taking some tough decisions to cut destinations and to concentrate on profitable routes, said Bertolt. As a result of a rationalisation, some services were axed, principally those to Minsk, Warsaw, Prague and Moscow, enabling the airline to concentrate on its profitable trunk routes from Riga to Budapest, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Kiev, Stockholm, Tallinn and Vilnius. According Kristian Kircheiner, the consolidation did not stop there –the company reviewed every single cost item, ranging from the lease terms on its fleet of aircraft right down to the coffee and cream served on board. Profits This widespread restructuring proved to be successful and as airBaltic prepared to celebrate its fifth anniversary in October 2000, it was confident that it had overcome its problems.

In those five years the airline had come a long way, as had Latvia, thanks to strong foreign investment from Germany and improving links with Scandinavia. However, the carrier had not been able to make a profit during this period. With all aspects of its cost efficiency programme in place for the 2000 financial year, the airline began to turn the corner in April, as increased demand, coupled with fewer flights, greatly improved the load factor. The year ended with airBaltic recording its first positive operating result and full profitability followed in 2001, with a gain of 56,000 Lats ($103,000) after tax. The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737-500 in November 2003. Key – Tony Dixon The restructuring had seen the airline turn itself into a much leaner structure and this placed it in a good position to overcome one of the most significant downturns to ever hit the airline industry. Although airBaltic – in common with most other carriers – was hit hard by the market downturn post-September 11, the earlier rationalisation meant that it was well positioned to overcome the crisis.

The restructuring had taken place at just the right time for us, said Bertolt. Fortunately, the Latvian economy did not suffer as heavy a blow as America, Europe and other countries did post September 11, 2001, he added. New business model The events of September 11, 2001, changed the structure of the airline industry forever and airBaltic changed its business model to meet those market needs. The big companies were suffering losses, while so-called low-cost airlines were continuing to expand their operations. At a time like this, we needed to respond to the market requirements, said Bertolt. This was first achieved through the launch of a new Baltic Shuttle product, offering high-frequency services to neighbouring Tallinn and Vilnius and the Finnish capital Helsinki, with frequent flights at reasonable rates. In the first stage of its redevelopment, airBaltic positioned itself in the market place somewhere between the full service and no-frills carriers. With the advent of low-cost travel making flying as common as transportation by coach, ferry and train, the carrier took the bold move to offer a simplified one-way fare structure and devised a new catering model on board its aircraft.

From April 2003 – and starting initially with its established routes to Berlin and Hamburg – the previous ticketing restrictions were replaced by a more straight-forward fare structure. This new pricing model was much simpler from the passengers’ viewpoint than the traditional pricing models, said Bertolt. Under this structure there are no travel conditions: time of travel, Sunday rule, duration of stay or advance purchase. Having secured good customer feedback on the two routes, the system was expanded to cover flights to Helsinki, Vienna and the other Baltic states, and was introduced on all of the airline’s new services. Latvian dancers painted on airBaltic’s fleet at Riga. Alongside the new fares, airBaltic also introduced a dynamic advertising campaign and as part of this its aircraft were used to help increase the carrier’s exposure. Breaking from the traditional marketing approach adopted by other airlines, airBaltic began to paint the fuselages as if they were flying billboards, advertising its low fares, using images of fruit and then birds to support the message. With this campaign we were saying that flying is a joyful experience and serious matters can be handled with a smile, added Bertolt.

A later adaptation of this theme saw the aircraft painted with dancing ladies in different coloured dresses. However, perhaps the boldest move was to give passengers the choice of paying a higher fare for a full cabin service or a lower fare with the option to purchase food and drink on board. This idea has worked well for the growing number of low-cost airlines, and is one of many traditional approaches being revised by some of the newer-generation carriers like airBaltic. Fleet and network growth During 2002, the airline embarked on the first stage of a network expansion programme as it prepared for Latvia’s eventual entry into the European Union. New services were launched to Berlin and Vienna, and former routes to Moscow, Prague and Warsaw were relaunched – the latter two being operated under a full codeshare partnership with CSA Czech Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines respectively. All five routes opened in 2002 were successful and their results exceeded our expectations, said Bertolt. During 2003 Brussels and Minsk were added to the network. Alongside the network changes, airBaltic introduced larger aircraft to its fleet with the acquisition of four Boeing 737-500s on lease.

These 120-seat aircraft offered greater range than the airline’s existing RJ70s and Fokker 50s, and were used to open up additional European routes. The introduction of the Boeing to our fleet gave us the flexibility to operate longer flights and allowed us to remain competitive even if ticket prices continued to fall, said Bertolt. The aircraft are configured in a two-class, 120-seat cabin, with a moveable curtain divider and fitted with new leather seats throughout. airBaltic operated a fleet of avro RJ70s, Boeing 737s and Fokker 50s in 2004. European membership In the past airBaltic was restricted in its growth by many bilateral agreements. With Latvia’s entry to the fully liberalised European market and the open skies agreement, the airline was able to operate on any routes between any two cities in Europe. Joining the European Union on May 1 fundamentally changed the rules of the aviation market for the new member states. This meant new challenges and opportunities for airBaltic, explained Bertolt. We prepared the airline for the opening of the market for two years, restructuring the company and the fleet.

The opening of the market meant that, within EU countries, there were no longer any capacity restrictions and most importantly no regulation of fares. It is only natural that we would expand operations. The airline was quick to take advantage of these new opportunities and on June 1, 2004 opened a base in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, transferring a single Boeing 737-500 and two Fokker 50s to its neighbouring country. Our aim was to offer regular air transport between Vilnius and Europe’s major cities, with prices that were competitive not only with other airlines, but also with the prices of bus, car, train and ferry transport, said Bertolt. The strong relationship with SAS, which sees each aircraft in airBaltic’s fleet displaying ‘Well connected with SAS’ titles prominently on the forward fuselage, has been a major factor behind its recent success. SAS have been absolutely crucial to us, explained Bertolt. They were a major factor behind our return to London by loaning us slots at Heathrow and also with our Vilnius plans.

Due to its location he believes that Lithuania was always a natural choice to support the growth of airBaltic and SAS had a good understanding of the market having been one of the many parties studying the proposed privatisation of Lithuanian Airlines. When airBaltic celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2000 a senior executive at the airline suggested that it was the small airline from the small country and that it would be reluctant to launch operations into hostile environments. Now it is competing with the European majors on routes to Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Milan. It appears the small airline is growing up and has just got bigger. For the latest news on airBaltic, see the September issue of Airliner World magazine, on sale from August 11. airBaltic Riga - YouTube airBaltic Riga The next video is starting stop airBaltic - Connecting the Baltics with the world 8,673 views 8 months ago airBaltic: is leading airline in the Baltics, with more than 50 connections from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius to destinations in Europe, Central Asia and Middle East.

AIR BALTIC CORPORATION (airBaltic) is a stock company that was established in 1995. Its primary shareholder is the Latvian state, which holds 80.05% of the stock, while Ralf-Dieter Montag-Girmes holds around 20% through his fully-owned Aircraft Leasing 1 SIA. Direct flights from Riga to Amsterdam, Athens, Baku, Barcelona, Berlin, Billund, Brussels, Budapest, Burgas, Copenhagen, Dubrovnik, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Helsinki, Kiev, Larnaca, London, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Munich, Nice, Olbia, Oslo, Palanga, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Poprad, Prague, Reykjavik, Rhodes, Rijeka, Rome, Salzburg, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Tbilisi, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Turku, Venice, Verona, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw, Zurich. Direct flights from Frankfurt, Dortmund and Zurich to Heringsdorf.

The airBaltic fleet currently consists of 24 aircraft – five Boeing 737-500, seven Boeing 737-300 and twelve Bombardier Q400Next Gen. Latvian airline airBaltic has been selected as one of the best employers following a nationwide survey carried out by the recruitment agency CV-Online Latvia. For the fourth year in a row, the survey recognises airBaltic as the best employer in the transport and logistics sector. The airline has been consistently named one of the best employers in similar studies over the past ten years. For the second year running, the Latvian airline airBaltic has been ranked No 1 globally in punctuality by OAG analysts, who tracked the performance of a total of over 50 million flight records. According to OAG, airBaltic achieved a punctuality rating of 94.4% for flights linking the Baltics with destinations in Europe, Middle East and Russia/CIS. It means that more than 9 airBaltic aircraft out of 10 arrive on-time.

airBaltic is followed in the global TOP 10 ranking by Copa Airlines, Azul, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Finnair, TAM, Austrian Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, LOT. The Latvian airline airBaltic has been awarded a Gold medal in ISPY 2016 for the quality of its cabin service. ISPY (Inflight Sales Person of the Year) competition is held annually in the United Kingdom with professionals participating from airlines around the world. Previously airBaltic has won a Silver award in the ISPY 2011 for selling goods with emotional intelligence and best sales techniques. top employer The Latvian national airline airBaltic has been recognised as one of the best employer following a nationwide survey carried out by the recruitment agency CV-Online Latvia. For the third year in a row, the survey recognises airBaltic as the best employer in the transport and logistics sector. The airline has been consistently named one of the best employers in similar studies over the past eight years.

most punctual airline The Latvian airline airBaltic has been ranked No 1 globally in punctuality in 2014 by OAG analysts, who tracked the performance of a total of 43.5 million flight records. According to OAG, airBaltic achieved a punctuality rating of rating of 94.9% for flights linking Riga with destinations in Europe, Middle East and Russia/CIS. It means that more than 9 airBaltic aircraft out of 10 arrive on-time. airBaltic is followed in the global ranking by Hawaiian Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Iberia and Norwegian Air Shuttle. pr award airBaltic has received two Baltic PR Awards: Silver for achievements in international communications and internal communications in 2014. The Baltic PR Awards are an internationally recognised PR competition spanning the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe. The projects which received recognition were the world’s first virtual meal tray introduced by airBaltic, which enables travelers to select their meals ahead of their trip, and a unique internal communications tool which improves management decision making by tapping into the competencies of staff.

Latvian airline airBaltic has been selected as the Top Employer in a nationwide survey by career and recruitment consultancy CV-Online. In its industry, airBaltic is recognised as the top employer in Latvia, and has consistently been among the top companies for the past seven years. The previous nationwide surveys consistently ranked airBaltic among Top 3 Employers since 2007 (Top 1 Employer in 2011 and 2010, Top 2 Employer in 2009, Top 3 Employer in 2008 and 2007). diamond prize Profile on airBaltic | CAPA - Centre for Aviation airBaltic reaps rewards of restructuring rigour in Riga. Launch operator of CS300 returns to growth 9-Dec-2016 11:03 AM On 28-Nov-2016 airBaltic took delivery of the world's first Bombardier CS300 for commercial service, which will begin on 14-Dec-2016 with a flight from Riga to Amsterdam. It will receive a further 19 of the aircraft variant by 2019.

Just five years ago airBaltic was heavily loss-making and close to bankruptcy. Under CEO Martin Gauss Latvia's national airline has negotiated a successful restructuring programme, established a track record of growing profits, secured a private investor alongside the national government, made significant load factor gains, and is now returning to capacity growth. The new CSeries order should allow airBaltic to build on these achievements by replacing its ageing Boeing 737s with one of the most modern and efficient narrowbodies aircraft in the world, while also providing additional growth capacity. Together with its Dash-8 turboprop aircraft this purchase should give it a fleet well adapted to the niche needs of a hybrid regional hub airline based in northern Europe's smaller markets. CAPA Airlines in Transition. How FSCs can regain short haul share from LCCs Part 1: at the coal face 24-Mar-2016 11:30 AM From the time when the penny finally dropped for full service airlines – that LCCs were not in fact going away – full service airlines have sought many ways, usually without great success, to counter the erosion of their short haul operations by the new entrant, lower-cost, specialist point-to-point airlines.

The impact has been not only on their regional operations, but usually also on their global network, since short haul services feed into their hubs, fattening long haul loads. This was more or less tolerable while the competition on long haul transferring over their hub was stable and their alliances, global and bilateral, were able to protect them. Then the super connectors (Gulf airlines and Turkish) came along disturbing the comfortable equilibrium, and in turn placing renewed importance on short haul. At the CAPA Airlines in Transition conference in Dublin on 10 and 11-Mar-2016, a "Board" under the chairmanship of Professor Rigas Doganis considered how a full service airline's board should respond to the loss of short haul share. Their deliberations were then voted on by delegates. This is the first part of two reports on the issues raised. 21-Sep-2015 8:20 PM There are few countries where an outright charter carrier is the de facto national flag carrier.

But that is the case in Lithuania where a succession of failed scheduled carriers contrasts with a relatively new airline that sells seats exclusively to tour operators, in several countries across continents, is expanding almost exponentially, has one of the lowest CASKs in Europe, isn't highly leveraged, and is profitable. That is far from the only surprising thing about Lithuania though, a country that is privatising its airports without really privatising them and which, is only just beginning to wake up to its tourism potential. airBaltic settles into Etihad partnership for Africa, Middle East & Asia – North America may be next 18-Feb-2014 7:00 PM airBaltic is quietly pleased with initial performance from its partnership with Etihad Airways, under which airBaltic commenced Riga-Abu Dhabi service in Dec-2013. Less than three months on, airBaltic is still observing trends in the proportion of local versus connecting traffic, but Bangkok is an early popular onward destination.

CEO Martin Gauss told CAPA that Latvia's growing portfolio of air service agreements can expand the number of codeshares it can place on Etihad flights, enabling airBaltic to sell flights from Riga to the Middle East, Africa and Asia – a potentially huge area it previously had no access to, with its local market base instead using competing airlines. As Etihad rapidly digests its Darwin Airline and Jet Airways equity stakes and evaluates Alitalia, speculation has mounted on airBaltic being a potential equity partner. Mr Gauss says the first priority for the airline is growing the codeshare – which so far is more important to airBaltic than Etihad – but he does not rule out any possibilities. More concretely in the medium term is gaining better access to North America, with airBaltic considering if a North American carrier can serve Riga and partner with airBaltic, or if airBaltic should serve North America with its own metal. The trans-Atlantic market is appealing but also competitive with joint ventures, and Mr Gauss is not rushing to enter. airBaltic-Etihad codeshare could lead to deeper links.

Meanwhile, EU state aid inquiry continues 19-Dec-2013 12:02 PM AirBaltic commenced a new codeshare with Etihad Airways on 16-Dec-2013, launching a four times weekly A319 service and linking its Riga hub with Etihad’s in Abu Dhabi. Riga is the Baltic region’s principal transfer point – the airport says that 33% of passengers in 2013 are transit/transfer traffic – and Abu Dhabi is rapidly emerging as an important hub for travellers flying between Europe and Asia. Following airBaltic’s near bankruptcy in 2011 and its subsequent renationalisation and investment from the Latvian Government, the state has been on the look out for a private sector investor. Meanwhile, CEO Martin Gauss has been focusing on the carrier’s restructuring programme and expects to restore profitability in 2014 after achieving better than expected results for 9M2013. An EU investigation into state aid received in 2011 is ongoing and could potentially lead to the carrier having to repay the funds received from the state. This would increase the pressure to secure fresh investment.

Some observers have suggested that the Etihad partnership could be a stepping stone to a future equity relationship. The codeshare attests to some meeting of minds already. Airbaltic (BT) : Find Airbaltic Flights and Deals – CheapOair Airbaltic Route Map Book Airbaltic Tickets with CheapOair For cheap airfares you can book the AirBaltic flights on CheapOair. The national carrier of Latvia, AirBaltic offers more than 60 direct flights from Riga and also maintains a healthy network of direct flights from Vilnius, Oulu and Tallinn. The destination network of AirBaltic comprises of Europe, Middle East, Scandinavia & Finland, Central Asia and Middle East. In-Flight Amenities Be it business or Leisure, AirBaltic is known for providing top-notch services. It helps in making your journey pleasant. Business class passengers of this airline receive full meal service and newspapers. Those who are travelling by economy class, they have to purchase beverages, meals and gift's from the AirBaltic menu. Take advantage of the AirBaltic 's frequent flyer program and earn points.

These points can be spent on upgrade, free flights and plenty of other benefits. With CheapOair you can save big on the AirBaltic tickets. Web Check-In AirBaltic saves you both time and effort by offering web check-in facility. All you need is an internet connection and you can select the seat of your choice from your laptop, at the press of a click. Online check-in time starts from 12 o'clock (local time - mid day), a day before the departure and ends two hours before the flight's scheduled departure time. Get there on time, every time! Check your flight status here.

Question: Airbaltic is an airline of which country?
Answer: Latvia